St. Paul preached Christ and not himself. As God is devil is darkness. seek yours unto us, And this is the tidings which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and yet walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But and if we walk in light, as he is in light, then have we fellowship together, and the blood of Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. As the devil is darkness and lies, so is God light and light, so the truth only, and there is no darkness of falsehood and consenting to wickedness in him. And the brightness of his light is his word and doctrine, as the hundred and nineteenth Psalm saith, Thy word is a lantern unto my feet, and a light to my paths. And Christ is the light that lighteneth all men. And the apostles are called the light of the world, because of the doctrine. And all that know truth are light. Ye were once darkness saith Paul; (Eph. v.) but now light in the Lord; walk therefore as the children of light. And good works are called the fruits of light. And all that live in ignorance are called darkness, as he saith afterwards, he that hateth his brother walketh in darkness. For if the light of the glorious gospel of Christ did shine in his heart, he could not hate his brother. Good works are the fruits of life. Walking in darkness or in light. By walking understand consenting, doing, and working. If then we walk in darkness, that is, consent and work wickedness, and say we have fellowship with God, we lie. For to have fellowship with him, is to know, and consent, and profess his doctrine in our hearts. Now if the commandments of God be written in our hearts, our members cannot but practice them and shew the fruit. So whether light or darkness be in the heart, it will appear in the walking. For though our members be never so dead unto virtue, yet if our souls knowledge the truth, and consent unto righteousness, we have the spirit of life in us. And Paul saith, (Rom. viii.) If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from death be in you, then will he that raised up Jesus from death, quicken your mortal bodies, by the reason of the Spirit that dwelleth in you. So that it is not possible for him that knoweth the truth, and consenteth thereto, to continue in sin. And then finally, if we have the light in our hearts, and walk therein, then we have fellowship with God, and are his sons and heirs, and are purged from all sin through Christ's blood. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and truth is not in us. If we think there is no sin in us, we are beguiled and blind, and the light of God's word is not in us, and either follow sin as beasts without conscience at all; or if we see the gross sins, as murder, theft, and adultery, yet we have hanged a vail of false glosses upon Moses's face, and see not the brightness of the law, how that it requireth of us, as pure an heart to God, and as great love unto our neighbours as was in our Saviour Jesus, and ceaseth not before to condemn us as sinners. If we knowledge our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighte ousness. If we confess our sins, not in the priest's ear, (though that tradition restored unto the right use were not damna If we have the Spirit us, then mike us up He that saith he hath no sin de ceiveth himself. 402 If we confess our sins to God with true faith and repentance, he will forgive us. All men are sinners. Nothing can be so well done, but it may be amend ed. THE EXPOSITION OF THE [TYNDALE. ble,) but in our hearts, to God, with true repentance and If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and For his word testifieth agianst us, that we are all sin- readiness to sin is damnable sin in the law of God. David prayed (Psm. Ixviii.) Let not the tempest drown me, let me not fall into the bottom, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me: as who should say, First, keep me, O God, from sinning, then if I shall chance to fall, as no flesh can escape, one time or other, then call me shortly back again, and let me not sink too deep therein and though I yet fall never so deep, yet Lord let not the way of mercy be stopped: signifying that it is unpossible to stand of ourselves, and much less to rise again. Which impotency and feebleness is damnable in the law of God, except that we saw it and repented, and were fled to Christ for mercy. : All the na ture of man is sinful. CHAP. II. MY little children, I write these things unto you, that ye sin not. And though any man sin, yet we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, which is righteous. resist sin with all our power and might. I write unto you on the one side, that God is light, and therefore that no man which willingly walketh in the unfruitful works of darkness, hath any fellowship with that And this I write We must light, or part in the blood of his Son. and testify unto you my dear children, that ye sin not: that is, that ye consent not unto sin, nor should sin of lust and purpose maliciously; but contrariwise that ye fear God, and resist sin with all your might and power according as ye have promised. For whosoever sinneth of purpose after the knowledge of truth, the same sinneth against the Holy Ghost remediless. (Heb. vi. 10.) And on the other side, I testify unto you that we be We sin daily by the frailty and weakness of our flesh. Our advocate Jesus. Jesus that always sinners, though not of purpose and malice after The name of our advocate is Jesus, that is to say, a Saviour. Call his name Jesus, said the angel to Joseph; for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt. i.) And this advocate and our Jesus, to save us from our sins, continueth ever, as it written, (Heb vii.) and hath, Sempiternum Sacerdotium, an everlasting office, to make an atonement for sin; by the reason whereof (saith the text) he is able ever to save them that come to God through him, with repentance and faith, and liveth ever to speak for us. And besides that, our Jesus is God and is God and almighty. He took our nature upon him, and felt all our infirmities and sicknessess, and in feeling learned to have compassion on us, and for compassion cried mightily in prayers to God the Father for us, and was heard. And the voice of the same blood that once cried, not for vengeance as Abel's, but for mercy only, and was heard, crieth now and ever, and is ever heard, as oft as we call unto remembrance with repenting faith how that it was shed for our sins. He is also called Christus, that is to say, king anointed with all might and power over sin, death and hell, and over all sins; so that none that flieth unto him shall ever come into judgment of damnation. He is man, calleth unto thee O Father, for us. Christus. A |